Joint for window regulators



April 20, 1954 H. ROETHEL JOINT FOR WINDOW REGULATORS Filed April 14, 1950 i E' 56 E INVENTOR.

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Patented Apr. 20, 1954 JOINT FOR WINDOW REGULATORS John H. Roethel, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Marvel'Equipment Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application April 14, 1950, Serial No. 156,001

This invention relates to means for guiding and controlling glass or transparent panels of windows, particularly windows of automobiles in which the transparent panels or panes are adapted to be raised and lowered. The invention is especially useful as applied to the window structure for a vehicle body having a window frame provided with a window well formed between inner and outer body or door panels within which the mechanism of the present invention as well as the window regulator mechanism are installed and concealed from view.

Heretofore in the mounting of a cross arm window regulator mechanism, as herein disclosed, within the window well it has been the customary practice to rigidly fasten by means of screws to the inner Wall of the inner door or body panel a mounting plate having a guide track adapted to receive a bearing device carried on the end of one of the swinging arms of the regulator.

The foregoing practice results in added costs to the vehicle manufacturer. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified construction wherein the guide track or guideway is formed in a channel section embossed directly in the door panel, thus eliminating the cost of a separate mounting plate and the cost of fastening the mounting plate to the panel while also providing surfaces slidingly engaged with a minimum of frictional resistance by the bearing element mounted on the end of the window regulator arm.

Earlier attempts at forming the guide track directly in the panel have not met with acceptance by the vehicle body manufacturers because of certain serious disadvantages and objections. One such attempt consisted in providing a slot in the panel, the edges of the slot being slidingly engaged by the bearing device on the end of the swinging regulator arm. However, it was found that the raw edges of the slot were usually ragged as a result of the shearing action of the die which punched the slot in the panel, hence preventing smooth travel of the bearing device along these edges and resulting in a high degree of fric tional drag which increased noticeably the efiort required to operate the window regulator. To eliminate this difficulty, it was suggested that the slot edges be curled over to provide a rounded surface engageable by the bearing means. This was not found feasible owing to the difiiculty and impracticability of curling the edges of such a slot in the inner door panel by die'operation and the difiiculty of making a die to perform'this operation.

3 Claims. (0]. 287-3) In accordance with the present invention'the guide for the bearing means on the end ofthe swinging arm is formed directly in the panel and comprises a longitudinal channel shaped depression having theback wall thereof provided with a longitudinal'slot through which the transverse stud or pin on the end of the regulator arm freely projects, this stud carrying a separate bearing portion which has smooth bearing engagement with the upper and lower generally horizontal walls of the channel. The edges of the slot do not come in contact with any portion of the bearing means and therefore do not have any effect on the smoothness of the movement of the bearing means in the guide.

Further details and objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptions and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding'parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating a window regulator mechanism embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken substantially through lines '22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation of the means formed in the panel.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited inits application to the details of construction and arrangements of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring to'the drawings wherein there is guide illustrated, by way of example, a certain embodiment of the present invention, there is shown at Ill a door of an automobile body comprising a door frame of any suitable construction formed with a main window opening which is adapted to be closed by means of a vertically slidable glass or other transparent panel I l and a laterally swinging glass or other transparent panel l2. The sliding panel II is mounted in conventional manner within the window opening with the rear, side and top edges thereof embraced within the usual glass run channels around the margin of the window opening when the window is fully closed. The front edge of the panel H is embraced by a glass run channel carried in a channel bar l3 rigidly fastened in the window opening, the channel bar l3 also having a flange against which the rear edge of the wing seats when in a. closed position. Secured to the lower edge of the panel H is a retainer channel [4 to which the window regulator is adapted to be attached. The panel H may be guided within the window well in any suitable manner. In the present instance,- the edges of the panel are shown cooperating with fixed upright guides and [6 within the window well. Since the guiding means for guiding opposite ends of the window panel within the window well form no part of the. present invention, a further description thereof is not deemed necessary.

The window panel I I may be raised and'lowered by means of a suitable window regulator mechanism mounted within the window well below the main window opening. In the present instance, there is shown a window regulator of the cross arm type comprising a pair of intersecting cross arms I! and I8 for shifting the window panel into and out of the window well. These arms are pivoted together at 19 at the locality of their crossing and the construction and arrangement of the arms are such that they will pass each other during operation.

The inner or lower end of the arm is, which may be termed the balance arm, is provided with a connection including a transverse stud 26 riveted to the end of the arm and slidable within a guideway or guide slot '2! formed in the door panel 22. This connection of the arm is with the door panel '22' will later be described in connection with Fig. 2. The inner end of the regulator arm 11, which may be termed the driving arm,

is rigidly attached to a gear sector 23 journalled on a mounting plate 24 by a stud 25. The gear 23' is driven by means of a pinion (not shown) secured in the usual manner to a transverse handle shaft '26 which may be turned by means of a crank handle mounted at the inner side of the door. The mounting plate 24 is stamped from a metal blank and is formed with suitable screw bosses 21 by means of which it may be secured by screws to the inner door panel 22. of the window panel H' and attached parts is counterbalanced by means of a spiral or clock type spring 28, the inner end of which is anchored to the stud l9 and the outer end of which is anchored to a pin 28 secured to the arm l8.

The swinging arm I8 is provided at'its outer end with a connection including a transverse stud 3|] adapted to travel within a longitudinal guideway or guide slot 3| formed in a bracket 32' secured to the bottom of the retainer channel I4.

Similarly, the swinging arm IT is provided at its outer end with a connection including a transverse stud 33 adapted to travel within a longitudinal guide slot or guideway 34 formed in a bracket 35 secured to the bottom of the retainer channel M.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the construction of th door panel 22 together with the connection of the window regulator arm l8 thereto is shown. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the door panel is pressed or formed in a die to provide a longitudinally extending channel 36 forming upper and lower parallel horizontal walls 33a. and 36b. After the channel 36 has been formed a portion of the back wall 36c is punched or blanked out so as to form the horizontally extending guide slot 2i. The stud is riveted to the outer end of the regulator balance arm [8 and is provided witha cylindrical shank 3'! having a portion 310. of smaller diameter than the main portion of the The weight shank. Adapted to be mounted on the shank 3! of the stud is a roller or bearing element 38 which has a bore 39 through which the stud shaft is slidable into the position shown in Fig. 2. The bore 39 of the roller 38 is countersunk as at 49 to receive the head 20a of the stud 20. The diameter of the roller 38 isv such that the roller will fit within the channel 38' in: bearing engagement with the opposed bearing surfaces of the walls 36a and 35b. The width of the roller is preferably less than the depth of the channel 36 thus ensuring that. the roller does not project beyond the front face 22a of the door panel.

In additionto the roller 38, the stud 20 carries a. washer M and a spiral spring 42. The roller 38 is placed on the stud 20 first, next the washer 4| is placed on the stud and lastly the spring 42. The reduced portion 31a of the stud shank 31 is then inserted into a bore I80. on the end of the regulator arm l8. The reduced portion 31a of the stud shank is of sufficient length so that it will project beyond the arm 18 to allow it to be spun or riveted over. The stud 28 and the parts carried thereon are thus permanently assembled on the end of the arm.

It will be noticed in Figs. 1 and 3 that the longitudmal slot 2| has an enlarged portion 2 la. The enlarged portion 2 la is of a diameter equal to the distance between the surfacestta and 36b. When the regulator is installed in the door the end of the arm 18 is first positioned so that the roller 38 can be inserted through the opening 2 la. After passing th roller through the opening am the regulator arm :8 is shifted so as to cause the shank 31 to enter the slot 21 thereby positioning the roller out of registry with the aperture 21a. The regulator mounting plate is then fastened to the panel. During use the arm l-B will never travel far enough longitudinally of the slot'to allow the roller 38 to register with the opening 2 la and jump out of position through the opening 21a.

Durin installation the spring 42 will be compressed thus ensuring a sufficiently tight relationship between the roller 38, the back wall 360 ofthe channel portion 33, and the washer 4| so that the parts will not rattle;

The roller 38 can be made of a suitable oilirnpregnabl'emetal or plastic material. The use of such materials gives superior results since they permit movement of the roller 33 between the wall surfaces 36a and 36?) with a minimum of frictional resistance.

The shank 3"! of the stud preferably has a diameter somewhat less than the height of the slot 2!. This permits the shank of the stud to travel longitudinally within the guide slot 2! free of engagement with the edges thereof. This construction, in which the shank of the stud does not ride against the edges of the slot 2|, is preferred in order to achieve best results since by eliminat-' ing frictional engagement of the stud with the raw edges of the slot 2| a very smooth operation,

channel and the cost of fastening the mounting plate to the panel are eliminated.

'I claim: 1. In a window regulator structure, aswinging regulator arm having a transverse stud secured to the end of the arm, a body panel having a front vertical wall formed with a longitudinal channel to provide vertically spaced upper and lower longitudinally extending generally horizontal bearing walls terminating at their outer edges in a single upright back wall joining said edges together, said back wall being formed with a longitudinal slot receiving said stud, the opposed terminal edges of said slot being spaced apart a reater distance than the diameter of said stud and lying in the plane of said back wall, a bearing element mounted on said stud and having a cylindrical portion fitting between said bearing walls, said bearing element maintaining said stud out of engagement with the edges of said slot, and means for retaining said bearing element on said stud and to prevent withdrawal of said stud from said slot.

2. In a window regulator structure, a swinging regulator am having a transverse stud secured to the end of the arm, a body panel having a front vertical wall formed with a longitudinal channel to provide vertically spaced upper and lower longitudinally extending generally horizontal bearing walls terminating at their outer edges in a single upright back wall joining said edges together, said back wall being formed with a longitudinal slot receiving said stud, the opposed terminal edges of said slot being spaced apart a greater distance than the diameter of said stud and lying in the plane of said back wall, and said stud having a cylindrical bearing element uniformly engaging said bearing walls and maintaining said stud free of engagement with both edges of said slot. 1

3. In a window regulator structure, a swinging regulator arm having a transverse stud secured to the end of the arm, a body panel having a front vertical wall formed with a longitudinal channel to provide vertically spaced upper and lower longitudinally extending generally horizontal bearing walls terminating at their outer edges in a single upright back wall joining said edges together, said back wall being formed with a longitudinal slot receiving said stud, the opposed terminal edges of said slot being spaced apart a greater distance than the diameter of said stud and lying in the plane of said back wall, and said stud having a cylindrical bearing element uniformly engaging said bearing walls and maintaining said stud free of engagement with both edges of said slot, said slot having at one end an enlarged portion of a diameter sufficient for passage of said bearing element therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 19,365 Roethel Nov. 6, 1934 1,398,693 Heintz Nov. 29, 1921 1,560,214 Clas Nov. 3, 1925 1,732,981 Myers Oct. 22, 1929 2,168,242 Roethel Aug. 1, 1939 2,207,891 Mackey July 16, 1940 2,259,083 Roethel Oct. 14, 1941 2,379,924 Roethel July 10, 1945 2,541,579 Fish Feb. 13, 1951 

